


City Girl 01: First Contact

by NervousOtaku



Series: Earth Pi Chronicles [1]
Category: Marvel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 12:38:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18992818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousOtaku/pseuds/NervousOtaku
Summary: Doctor Curt Connors is approached by a strange young girl asking to become business partners.





	City Girl 01: First Contact

He blinked at the sound of the door opening. Straightening up, he turned around.

“Uhh. Are you lost, miss?” he asked the girl moving into the lab.

“Mm. Depends. Are you Dr. Curt Connors?” she replied, tipping her head to the side.

He couldn't help a twinge of anxiety, even as he nodded.

A glimmer of a smile passed ever-so-briefly over her face before it became blank again. “Then I'm in the right place. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor.”

He swallowed nervously, turning to close his notes before she could see them. She seemed to wait patiently, standing delicately in the middle of the lab. “So... can I help you? Is this something for a... uh, school project?”

She blinked, then very briefly smiled again, shaking her head. “I can understand why you would ask such a thing, but no. My father decided to homeschool me, and we finished that a while ago.”

Curt frowned a little. She didn't look much older than fourteen, how could she be done with her schooling already?

“Sixteen.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“I'm sixteen. Because I'm so small, I look younger than I am. My father's genetics, though I have my mother's figure and face.” she replied, shrugging.

At a loss, Curt looked the girl over.

She was small. Delicate and lithe. Still had a little baby-fat on her, from the looks of things. Her skin was on the pale side of fair, a smattering of freckles across her cheeks. Her eyes were a stormy blue. Her hair was waist-length, with a small amount of wave to it, ginger-red in color. She wore a floral sundress, a faceted cuff bangle on her left wrist and earrings that looked a lot like computer chips. A small purse hung from her shoulder.

If she was... well, secretly holding a weapon or something, it was pretty well-hidden.

“So... what's your name, then? Since you know mine and all...” Curt murmured, keeping his eye on her as he began putting things away.

“Felicity.”

“Just Felicity?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“I try to avoid coattail-riding.”

So she was someone important's child? Then why was she here?

Before he could question anything else, though, she continued to speak. “I really admire your work, Dr. Connors. Restoring limbs to amputees? Second chances all around, really. You'd put prosthetics out of business.”

That felt like it answered the question well enough.

“It isn't safe. It would take—”

“I know,” she said, cutting him off with a raised hand, “You used the serum on a rabbit first, right? And after a successful test, regrew the arm you lost during service.”

He couldn't stop himself from reaching up to rub at his shoulder.

She turned her blue gaze from the tables and boards filling the lab to him. “I also know about the Lizard.”

A stab of fear ran through him, and he hurried to squash it, but not before—

_Arrogant prey mammal._

Hissing, he doubled over, clutching his head in his hands. “Y-you should go...” he gasped.

Her footsteps sounded, and gentle fingers took his wrists in hand. “I'm not here to hurt you, Dr. Connors. I wish no harm on you. I'll not ask you to trust me. Just know that I'm not scared of the Lizard. I trust you, Dr. Connors.” she murmured, tugging his hands away from his head and coaxing him to stand. He got the feeling his pupils were staring to narrow, his skin starting to turn rough. But she looked him in the eye, face blank, and said, “I'm not afraid, Dr. Connors. Why are you?”

“I... I don't want to hurt you...” he choked, trying to push down the urge to lunge forward, sink his teeth in.

“You haven't hurt Martha or Billy.”

He froze.

Felicity lifted her hands to cup his face, standing on the balls of her feet to reach him. “Never, not even once, have you or the Lizard harmed a single hair on either of their heads. And if you can accomplish that, then what reason do I have to fear?”

“... You... you aren't them...”

She smiled. Just barely, the faintest upward pull of her lips. “I trust you, Dr. Connors.” she said, voice firm and unwavering.

Swallowing several times, he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the feeling of her hands against his face. Slowly, he began to control his breathing. In, out, in, out.

After a minute, he lifted his hands up again and pulled her away from his face.

“... That was too close.” he informed her as she stepped away.

“A calculated risk.” she replied, moving over to where his notes were. Instinctually, he began to warn her away... but she already knew, didn't she? “No luck, then?”

“What do you want, Felicity? This isn't something—”

“That children should be playing with, dabbling in, concerning themselves with, worrying about, yes yes. Everyone loves to give that speech. I'm no ordinary child. Just because I stepped off my father's coattails doesn't mean I'm not capable in my own right.” she finished, closing his notes with a sigh. Shaking her head, she turned back to him. “I want to be business partners, Dr. Connors.”

It took Curt a minute to process that, shaking his head a little. “I'm sorry?”

Felicity seemed to look past him as she answered, “I have a great deal. Wealth, power, and talent. But I don't have many friends. And in the field I'm aiming to go into, friends and business associates are something you want a good handful of.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “What field?” he asked.

A sort of dark, self-deprecating smirk took over her face. It looked out of place thanks to her youth, but felt like it was an expression she made often.

“Villainy, of course.”

He was taken aback by her answer, blinking.

The girl seemed to take that as a cue to elaborate, explaining, “I worry a great deal about my family, you see. I want to keep them safe, no matter the cost. To do that, the world needs to be safe. I'm not exactly the heroic type, though. I can't be sweet and pretty around the clock, I can't plaster a Barbie-worthy smile on and kiss babies I scooped from fires. What I can do is slide a couple thousand across the table, or arrange for a security system to be disabled, supply information you can't get from Google.”

“If you can't beat them, join them, then.” Curt said, voice admittedly grim.

“Exactly. If you control the underbelly of the world, then you control the heart of it. Keep the bad guys under your thumb and they'll never give you trouble.” Felicity nodded.

“And where do I come in?”

“I know you aren't a villain, Dr. Connors. Rather, I need your help making my first contact. Protection, to ensure things swing my way.” she explained, opening up her purse and pulling a phone out. With a few taps, she was handing it to him.

“... Angry fella.”

“His name is Daken Akihiro. He tends to frequent the east coast, but he travels a lot. If his current pattern keeps up, he should be within New York before long. I aim to make contact and an agreement with him. From him, I want to branch out to two other individuals. One here in New York and one more under the radar. My only issue is that he is a more violent individual, and I'm notedly very small and squishy.”

Curt examined the picture a moment longer. A young man with a mohawk and tattoos, the grin on his face cold and exposing sharp teeth.

“And you want to talk to this guy... why?”

Felicity took the phone back, smirking again. “He's a mutant, so he's a way to a powerful leader in the mutant community. He's also got ties to the underworld, having operated as a crime boss at least once. Additionally, he travels. He has no obligations the way I do. I need to appear, show up, stick around, maintain a schedule. Daken Akihiro has no such chains.”

... Okay. He had to admit. It sounded like she knew what she was doing. She had hunted down the Lizard and appealed to him first, and was looking for networks. But this was still dangerous and risky. He got the feeling even without him, she'd hunt this fellow down and confront him.

Before Curt could say anything, Felicity was talking again. “Of course, I'm not expecting you to do this for free. I'll supply you with any materials you request for the next six months, and will sponsor your work and research, as well as help your search for a permanent solution to the Lizard. If that isn't enough—”

“What am I supposed to do when we're done?” he cut in.

“Go back to work. Be a good and loving husband and father.” she answered easily.

“And forget about how you told me this Daken guy is violent? And you're apparently planning to use him to meet even more dangerous people? Look, I get that you're apparently capable. I mean, you hunted me down, hunted the Lizard down... but you're talking hardened criminals.” Curt told her, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest. “What would your father think?”

The girl gave a bitter smile. One that felt fake and forced. “He's busy being Iron Man.”

It took a moment for that to sink in.

Slowly, he lifted a hand, pointing dumbly, unable to speak.

Felicity's smile twisted, and she swept her skirt out into a curtsy. “Felicity Edward Stark, at your service, Dr. Connors.”

**Author's Note:**

> Earth Pi and Felicity Edward Stark originated as a world-building and character-building exercise. That was several years ago. Both have since grown and evolved, and I would like to nudge my fanwork for Marvel slowly here onto AO3.


End file.
